As government is increasing price of
petroleum products every fortnightly public transporters are also looking ahead
to raise transport fares. Although the proportion is not decided the increase
may add up to monthly expenditures of regular commuters on public transport
particularly in the mega city like Karachi where approximately 70 % population
travels in the public transport. The rise in prices of diesel and petrol
automatically increases the cost of travelling from one point to another for
public and private transports. However, given the service quality of public
transports, increase in any proportion of travel-fare is incongruent. Since,
public transports carry passengers-load in excess of predefined limit in
violation of motor vehicle act they already earn more fares per travel than
made-for. Instead of seat-by-seat travelling travellers like inanimate objects
are stuffed in buses and coaches to travel. Therefore, it gives additional
profits to the transporters. The nightmarish experience of commuting in public
transports in Karachi emanates spate of problems not only for common people but
also for administration and environment. Nevertheless, the transport fare is
directly proportional to the growing cost of inputs. According to Dr. Tahir
Soomro, Former EDO Transport & Communications rise in public transport fare
is inevitable as long as cost of rendering transport services increases.
Increase in transport fare is justifiable; however, delivery of adequate
transport services to the passengers must be ensured by the governing
administration and must be adhered to by the transporters.

Undoubtedly, public transports run by
private businessmen have relentless impact of price rise of diesel and have
expensive traveling for public, but government should have evaluated the impact
density prior to show compliance to fare-raise of Rs. 2 per kilometer of taxis
and rickshaws as this would have shown that actual increase in cost of a
diesel-run taxi per kilometer following latest revision in diesel price had
exceeded not over Re. 0.20. However, Rs. 0.20 per kilometer fare-raise was
allowed to inter-city bus transports. With a rough estimate, a diesel-run taxi
gives 10 kilometers average mileage per liter and the mileage increases with the
decrease of horsepower; before being revised to Rs. 38, 10 kilometers spent Rs.
36 vis-‡-vis Rs. 38 as of now, a rise of only Rs. 2 per 10 kilometers. Eerily
permitted Rs. 2 per kilometer fare-raise transport ministry seems to have
desultory price determination formula.

Oil price hike is an international
phenomenon and transport sector is the direct hit of resultant diesel or motor
gasoline price up per litre. Transportation is one of the crucial and dynamic
sectors, which derive economic growth and malfunction of which dismantles trade
and industrial activities as well as societal decorum. Commendable are the
measures taken by the CDGK that heavily and holistically is spending on road
infrastructure and planning to revitalize transportation systems of the mega
polis all in all. However, public ethos, lack of institutionalization,
mismanagement, and decentralization remain few of the holes that need to be
plugged at once. Besides, vehicular traffic congestion is increasing the time
wastage ratio substantially. Only traffic congestion in central business
district causes unnecessary wastage of gasoline. It is as important that element
of morning peak hour is made of study trips. According to JICA-a Japanese
organization-study conducted for traffic situation in Karachi in 2005 revealed
out of total 24.227 million trips made in a typical weekdays, 60 percent is made
by students in public transports. International experience has proved mere road
expansion can not solve traffic congestion problems instead road improvements
can solve it. The city is in dire need of not only road and routes expansion but
also hurdles in the way of smooth traffic flow should immediately be removed.

ALTERNATIVE MODES OF TRANSPORTS

In developed countries average
commuters, if losing more time on traveling, bear a less burden on pockets than
commuters of developing countries do because of difference in the income level,
said Dr. Tahir. According to an international survey conducted mainly for cities
in the Middle East, an average office worker spends one hour and forty five
minutes a day on account of traveling in Dubai that is the highest traveling
time compared with the other major cities. He said in Pakistan 60 percent of
public commute in private vehicles whereas in USA this figure is 90 percent.
Gain saying is the fact that there vehicular traffic is operating under
stringent rules and regulations and people are dutifully abiding by the laws
nonetheless time-spend on travel is high.

Spread well over an area of
approximately 3,600 Square Kilometers, Karachi is the backbone of the national
economy and ranked on 21st amongst largest cities of the world and 13th in Asia.
Attracting a significant chunk of migrants from upper Sindh and all over
provinces, its population of over 15.5 million is growing annually at a rate of
6 %. With road networks of 9,944 KM, the city has a 45 percent of the total
vehicles in Pakistan. So far, there are briefly three transit services being
used by commuters in Karachi: public transports including para-transit services
(rickshaws, taxis); private vehicles and defunct Karachi Circular Railways (KCR),
which is scarcely being utilized by the public majority of them formed by office
workers. There are 16 Railway Stations along the existing KCR system constructed
in between 1960 and 1964.

Law enforcers should restrict public
transports not to cross minimum passengers sitting limit according to the motor
vehicle ordinance that states a certain passengers-load limit for a public
transport and imposes heavy fine on flouting. Unfortunately this law breaking is
common with impunity. The complex web of multifarious government authorities to
implement the traffic rules incapacitates the effectiveness of the
implementation. The conflict in command is the cause of diversified or
incomplete control. Dr. Tahir said traffic law enforcers have no administrative
backup in implementing laws, which exist only on papers. In practicality,
traffic rules violation is not controllable because of the division of commands,
he added.

He advocates of unity in command to run
city administration. He said traffic police should be answerable to city
administration that can implement traffic rules and regulations in a better and
systematic pattern. He said presently transportation department is responsible
for issuing permits to public transport while it rarely cancels permit of
traffic rules violator. Basically, complete power is not enjoyed by the
authority, he said and added metropolitan transport authority should be
established with an independent judicial transport administration control. He
preferably favours first class magisterial power to the city transport
department in order to wield unison in law enforcement from the single
authority.

According to Syed Jawad Hussain,
Traffic Engineer, Engineering Consultants International Ltd., which was a
co-designer of Master Plan 2020, Karachi is the only mega city where public
transportation sector is operated by the private transporters. Government should
head public transportation administration to make it more formalized.

Dr. Tahir said removing private sector
role from transportation would not prove effective measure as in past
government-run transportation services failed owing to ever-increasing cost in
relation to subsidy that put immense burden on governmentís development
expenditures. He argued therefore participation of private sector in
transportation is very important.